Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, Box Score, Matt Kemp and Former Executive
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves totaled three hits and no runs on Friday evening – Ender Inciarte, Gordon Beckham and Anthony Recker got the three hits for the Braves. Inciarte got the game started with a leadoff single in the top of the 1st inning, but Beckham quickly grounded into a double play. The next hit came in the top of the 4th inning when the Braves had their best opportunity to score…Inciarte led off with a walk and Beckham followed that with a single to center. Unfortunately, Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp both struck out and Adonis Garcia grounded out. Their last hit came in the 6th inning when Recker doubled, but the Braves couldn’t bring him in. For a full recap, go here.
Braves lose 1-0
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ender Inciarte CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .264 | .324 | .333 | .658 |
| Gordon Beckham 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .240 | .332 | .383 | .715 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | .275 | .359 | .499 | .858 |
| Matt Kemp LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .256 | .283 | .479 | .762 |
| Adonis Garcia 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .269 | .308 | .397 | .705 |
| Jeff Francoeur RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .249 | .287 | .390 | .677 |
| Anthony Recker C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .355 | .432 | .516 | .949 |
| Chase d’Arnaud SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .250 | .315 | .347 | .662 |
| Joel De La Cruz P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .143 | .143 | .143 | .286 |
| Jose Ramirez P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Hunter Cervenka P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Nick Markakis PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .265 | .342 | .376 | .718 |
| Mauricio Cabrera P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 30 | .103 | .133 | .138 | .271 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joel De La Cruz, L (0-4) | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3.41 |
| Jose Ramirez | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.53 |
| Hunter Cervenka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.18 |
| Mauricio Cabrera | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.41 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1.12 |
ATLANTA BRAVES: Braves edged by Garcia, Cardinals on road
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Braves and Cardinals offense totaled just five hits on Friday and one run. Unfortunately, the Cards were the only team to score a run. St. Louis starting pitcher Jaime Garica pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 11 Braves hitters. Oh yeah, he also had the lone RBI as he hit a single in the bottom of the 2nd inning to score Matt Holiday. The Braves fall 1-0 in game one against the Cards and are now 39-70 in the 2016 season.
"He pitched out of a two-on, no out jam in the fourth, striking out Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp before getting Adonis Garcia to ground out. Freeman and Kemp, the Braves’ Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, were a combined 0 for 6 against Jaime Garcia with five strikeouts. Garcia’s two-out single in the second drove in Matt Holiday for the pitcher’s fourth RBI this season.Garcia needed just 89 pitches to get through eight innings, facing three batters over the minimum. Seung Hwan Oh got the last three outs for his ninth save.Braves right-hander Joel De La Cruz (0-4) gave up the run and two hits with five walks in 5 1-3 innings. Garcia’s effort aided a taxed Cardinals bullpen. Prior to his start, five of the last six St. Louis starters failed to pitch into the sixth inning."
Padres executive isn’t backing down from criticism of Matt Kemp
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: San Diego Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler continues to stand by his statements about Matt Kemp. Braves traded for Kemp a week ago at the MLB trade deadline and after the trade was confirmed, Kemp wrote an article on the Players Tribune about his time in San Diego and how he was looking forward to a new start in Atlanta. Matt Kemp turns 32-years-old on September 23, appeared in 154 games for San Diego last year, and batted .265 with 23 homers, 100 RBIs and a .755 OPS. In 2016, prior to the trade, Kemp was hitting .262 with 23 homers, 69 RBIs and a .774 OPS.
"Kemp wrote, in part, “While I may not agree with all the criticism I received in the past few years – and while I believe that a lot of it is unmerited – I take full responsibility for my shortcomings. And I promise you, Atlanta: Those days are gone.”Fowler responded, “He made the same type of statement to our fans when we traded for him. I called his comments B.S., because his actions are inconsistent with his words.“My whole spiel was about winning … We had some high-priced talent that was not contributing to more wins … We’re moving in another direction.”"